Phoenix-Oriflamme - Tianjin

Phoenix - Tianjin (completed in December 2014) On a former salt marsh on the edge of the ocean now stands part of China's fifth-largest iTech city, built in less than 30 years. To preserve something of the memory of the site, Jean-Bernard Métais has let thread-like aquatic forms such as seaweed inspire suggestions of marine life. Composed of fin-shapes attached to a mast 68 metres high, the sculpture stands out boldly against this new cityscape. Most strikingly, this is not a static work: in perpetual movement, it interacts with external forces like the wind. The fins are activated by a system of electromagnets which simultaneously attract and repel each other. The work is lit up at night by dynamos that store its dynamic energy.